


Snapshots on the Road

by PinkLynx



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Based on the trip to LA, Fluff, M/M, More tags to be added, Road Trip, Swearing, soft angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-16 02:27:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19635517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkLynx/pseuds/PinkLynx
Summary: “At the journey’s end, there lay a brutal mystery. This ride really was the calm before a storm; none of the truck’s occupants knew quite what to expect when they arrived in LA. The address could be a death trap. Or it could be a false lead. Or it could be a goldmine of clues. Who knew?“





	Snapshots on the Road

It had only been 10 hours since leaving the field-bound dirt tracks of Cape Cod, and yet Ash could have sworn they had been sat in the back of the truck for an eternity. His joints felt like grindstone from a lack of movement, and his butt hurt like hell from sitting on the harsh planked floor. It wasn’t exactly a smooth ride - Max was certainly not as good of a driver as he claimed to be - and it irked Ash that he hadn’t been able to catch a moment of shut-eye since the beginning of the journey. Unlike Eiji, who was somehow able to nap through this death ride, lying slumped against a pile of mismatched blankets.

The truck sped over another bump in the road, jolting them all.

“Ah, fuck,” Shorter cursed, readjusting his sunglasses after they slipped down his nose. “When’s the next piss break?! I’m bored out of my mind.”

Too disgruntled and tired to talk, Ash merely shrugged his shoulders in reply. He would be lying, though, if he said that he didn’t agree with Shorter. His muscles were dying for an excuse to unfurl themselves and stretch, and his brain was starved of stimulation (the purple-haired Chinese hadn’t offered much more than curse words and complaints).

Meanwhile, Shorter fumbled across the floor to find a mobile in the dim light; his face lightened up when he grabbed one, only to sink into misery again when the screen showed a dead battery. Huffing, he leaned over to take a glimpse of Eiji’s watch (thank god one of them was old-fashioned enough to have one), only to sigh disappointedly when he saw a mere ten minutes had passed since the last time check.

“MAX!” Shorter whined, thumping his fist sluggishly against the wall of the truck. “When are we stopping?”

“SHUT UP! Jeez, this is the fifth time in the past two hours you kids have asked that. I’ll pull over at the next gas station, so give your old man some peace.”

At the very least, Max’s annoyed comment made Ash chuckle.

“Old men need their rest! Hurry up and park somewhere, Dad.”

Max’s grumbled response was lost under the hum of the engine, probably for the best given that it contained more than a few profanities.

No one bothered to say any more after that.

So silence began to seep into the air again. Ash leaned back against the truck edge and watched the world roll onwards through the opening in the canvas. This feeling of temporary calm was too eerie - his life was punctuated by explosive, cruel events. His brain was still processing the events of Cape Cod, the gunfire still echoing in his ears. Had his father saved them from the police? It didn’t make him less disgusting in Ash’s eyes, he certainly could never forgive the sick bastard for his childhood...

At the journey’s end, there lay a brutal mystery. This ride really was the calm before a storm; none of the truck’s occupants knew quite what to expect when they arrived in LA. The address could be a death trap. Or it could be a false lead. Or it could be a goldmine of clues. Who knew?

And Ash didn’t really care - as long as he could eventually find justice for his brother, he could be happy. In his eyes, it didn’t matter what horrors he had to go through the achieve that goal. He didn’t care about himself anymore.

He continued to gaze out at the road as it disappeared over the horizon, watching the dust as it was swept up into mesmerising swirls in the air. The sun, golden and lustrous, tip-toed on the edge of the landscape, casting hues of crimson and honey as far as the eye could see. In another life, he might have still had the innocence to appreciate this and see the art in nature. Not now. Not at this time.

Ash had wandered far enough into his thoughts that he hadn’t anticipated a light, fuzzy, comfortingly warm blanket being draped over his shoulders. Nor the gentle hand that rested on his shoulder. Eiji had, at some point, awoken from his nap and shuffled across the trailer with a blanket, taking a seat cross-legged beside Ash.

“You really are a grandpa, y’know,” Ash teased unwaveringly, glancing towards Eiji. The Japanese’s wide-eyed expression looked a little confused, unsure of what Ash was getting at. “You’ve barely know me for more than a month or two, and yet you look after me like I am a sweet, innocent little kid.” Ash frowned slightly at his own words.

“In that case, grandpa says you need to have a nap before our next stop, kid” Eiji said, smiling and nudging Ash with his shoulder.

“But I’m not a k-“

“Are you arguing with your grandpa?” Eiji smirked, cocking one eyebrow. There was no malice in his tone, not that Eiji could possibly be malicious. They looked into each others’ eyes for a moment challengingly, before Eiji broke into chuckles.

This remark had certainly cheered up Ash’s mood, as he also let out an unexpected snort. There was no need to wallow in sordid thoughts when he was blessed with a moment of joy; Eiji had managed to warm Ash’s guarded heart just a little.

As the truck trundled on, the pair quietened, wistfully taking in the calmness that hung in the air. Gently, Ash rested his head upon Eiji’s shoulder. It was warm. Not a beastly warmth, like the calloused hands that burned his neck, arms and thighs, nor like the sickening pants of breath puffed unwillingly into his face. No... it wasn’t that kind of warmth at all. It was soft, welcoming, friendly, and most of all, _human_.

Undoubtedly, there was something special about Eiji. Ash couldn’t quite put his finger on the feeling. It didn’t really matter though...

Ash doubted they would both live long enough to figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi pals, how are you doing? I hope you liked this fic - please feel free to leave kudos, comments and constructive criticism <3
> 
> Summer hols have started so I plan to maybe write a couple more chapters for this - I do have an idea for a few more scenarios. If anyone has suggestions they would like to see, please send me a comment :)
> 
> I have a new tumblr blog called pinklynx. I would love to make friends with people who also love Banana Fish, so please feel free to message me if you want to chat!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed ~ if you did, please feel free to leave kudos/comments (it makes my day!) ☺️
> 
> P.S. This originally had another chapter, but I decided to delete that as I didn’t see this fic going anywhere as a chaptered fic...


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